Holding means for frame members



D. M. SMALL ET AL HOLDING MEANS FOR FRAME MEMBERS Dec. 2, 1958 Filed Feb. 20, 1957 MWHMHWWWWWWWMWMV n INVENTOR. 17/ 227 fiwmw United States Patent HOLDING MEANS FOR FRAME MEMBERS Douglas M. Small, Springfield, and Alvin 0. Johnson, Westfield, Mass, assignors to Stanley Home Products, Inc., Westfield, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application February 20, 1957, Serial No. 641,283 1 Claim. (Cl. 1s 147 This invention relates to new and useful improvements in means for holding the ends of elongated frame forming members.

Frames or holders for mops, dusters, cleaning devices and the like commonly include a pair of wire-like members which are associated with and extend from handle means.

Considerable difficulty has been experienced in adequately securing the frame members to a handle and in maintaining the members in their frame forming relation.

According to the novel features of this invention, novel means is provided for securing the ends of wire members in their frame forming relation. Said means may be inserted in or otherwise associated with a handle, whereby the frame elements are maintained in their frame forming relation without reliance upon the connection of the elements with a handle.

According to the invention a pair of elongated frame forming elements have end portions disposed within an elongated tubular holder means which, at its opposite ends, has wall portions displaced to securely bind longitudinally spaced portions of the elements in the holder.

In this way, the holder and frame elements become an integral structure wherein the elements are held in sideby-side relationship, the holder may be inserted in or associated with any form of handle and in any desired manner.

Various changes and modifications may be made in the practise of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. The invention will be hereinafter described in the form at present preferred, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein;

Figs. 1 and 2 are plan and side elevational views respectively of the holder of the invention having frame elements secured therein;

Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional elevational views on the lines 3-3 and 44 of Fig. 2 respectively; and

Fig. 5 is a right-hand end elevational view of the holder shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring now to the drawings more in detail, the novel features of the invention will be fully described.

A pair of frame forming elements are shown at 2, which may be those of numerous forms of frames. Frames for mops, dusters, cleaning devices and the like commonly employ a pair of wire-like elements, and said frames take many forms, shapes and dimensions.

An elongated member 4 is provided which may be called aholder, said holder according to the form of the invention being disclosed, is in the form of a thin-walled metal tube.

Inner end portions 3 of elements 2 extend along and Within the holder from end to end thereof, as shown.

Upper and lower wall portions 6 and 8 at the outer end of the holder are displaced inwardly towards one another to spread the elements 2 toward opposite side walls of the holder, and rigidly embrace and hold the elements in horizontally spaced relation, see Fig. ,3.

2,862,217 Patented Dec. 2, 1958 "ice The elements 2 are embraced throughout a length or zone thereof as indicated by 10, at the forward end of the holder.

The end portions 3 of the elements relatively converge and decline relative to the horizontal from the zone 10 to the rear end of the holder, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

At the rear end of the holder, the upper portion of the wall thereof, indicated by 12, is displaced downwardly towards the lower wall portion 16 so as to clamp terminal portions 14 of the wire portions, in a horizontally spaced relation, between the wall portions 12 and 16, see Fig. 5.

Thus the wire elements are clamped in spaced relation at forward and rear ends of the holder. By reason of the converging relationship and declination of portions 3 of the elements, said elements are firmly held against longitudinal displacement and shifting relative to the holder.

The wall portions of the holder may be displaced by a pressing, stamping, or swedging operation, and the inner end portions of the elements may be formed as described in such operations, or they may be preformed prior to inserting in the holder.

The wire elements may be of any form depending upon the type of frame it is desired to produce for a specific mop, duster or cleaning device.

The invention has been described in the form at present preferred and it is desired to be limited, if at all, by the appended claim, rather than by the foregoing description.

We claim the following:

A secured together holder and pair elongated end elements of a frame for a cleaning device, said holder comprising an elongated thin-walled metal tube, said tube having a cleaning device end and a handle end, said end elements extending through said tube from the cleaning device end thereof and having spaced terminations of the handle end of said tube, said end elements being in spaced relation at the cleaning device end of said tube and converging therefrom to said spaced terminations, relatively short top and bottom longitudinal wall portions of said tube at the cleaning device end thereof being displaced inwardly into contiguous relationship between said end elements and holding said end elements against opposite side walls of said tube in spaced and fixed relation, and a relatively short longitudinal top wall portion at the handle end of said tube being displaced downwardly in generally V formation between the extremities of said end elements and into close adjacency with the wall portion of said tube at the bottom side thereof, said top wall portion at the handle end of said tube extending from upper opposite sides of the V formation inwardly and onto the extremities of said end elements and holding them in spaced relationship against spaced lower wall portions of said tube, the spacing of the extremities of said end elements being relatively less than the spacing of said end elements at the cleaning device end of said tube.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 132,319 Taylor May 5, 1942 1,213,025 Sabelberg Jan. 16, 1917 1,929,848 Neely Oct. 10, 1933 2,661,491 Peterson Dec. 8, 1953 2,700,564 Fabvre Jan. 25, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 289,029 Switzerland June 16, 1953 299,322 Switzerland Aug. 16, 1955 

